Green Room

Hate Speech Directed at Black Members of the Tea Party Movement

The reports of racist epithets having been hurled during the recent Tea Party demonstration against Obamacare are accurate after all, as it turns out. But the targets of these racial slurs were not black members of Congress, as the mainstream media has been so enamored of reporting, even though no evidence has been produced. What is more, the name calling has not come from within the ranks of the opposition movement but toward its members.

“Oreos,” “traitors,” and “Uncle Toms“ are just a few of the ugly names that black conservatives have been called for having the audacity to oppose the nation’s first black president. According to AP writer Valerie Bauman, Timothy F. Johnson, chairman of the conservative Frederick Douglass Foundation, has been called much worse. “I’ve been told I’m a spook at the door,” reports Johnson. “I’ve been told I hate myself.”

This is a problem that has long existed or blacks who choose to follow their own minds and make their own political decisions. “Black Republicans,” Johnson is quoted further as saying, “find themselves always having to prove who they are. Because the assumption is the Republican Party is for whites and the Democratic Party is for blacks.” This is a point of view Democrats are only too happy to foster and capitalize on.

The great irony, of course, is that the need for blacks to fall in line rather than think for themselves is the worst kind of racial stereotyping—self policing. It is precisely this kind of ugly mob tactics that Democrats claim to find so abhorrent.

According to David Webb, an organizer of New York City’s Tea Party 365, Inc., since Obama’s election, some black conservatives have felt impelled to hide their views. “I know of people who would play the (liberal) role publicly, but have their private opinions,” he is quoted as saying. “They don’t agree with the policy but they have to work, live and exist in the community … Why can’t we speak openly and honestly if we disagree?” Why indeed?

Blowback

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The great irony, of course, is that the need for blacks to fall in line rather than think for themselves is the worst kind of racial stereotyping—self policing. It is precisely this kind of ugly mob tactics that Democrats claim to find so abhorrent.

Yes, it’s called ‘Projection’, it’s the same reason they hurl the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei epithet with almost the same frequency.

Yes, this is the same predicament in which we conservatives in academe find ourselves. We are marginalized, patronized, reviled, and disenfranchised. It is the same type of ignorant hatred that Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell (two of my conservative heroes) have faced for many years. Yet, we persist and continue fight our battles one at a time, employing common sense and good argumentation. Of course, liberals don’t tend to let the facts get in their way, so we often feel as though we are spitting in the wind.

I completely relate. These exact sentiments could be bolstered by similar anecdotes from black-scholars and conservatives of all ages. That’s not news.

What I was hoping to hear about were instances of abuse or insults based directly on being tea party protesters or Tea Party members.

The headline and lede bait the hook.

They’ve been called Oreos, traitors and Uncle Toms, and are used to having to defend their values. Now black conservatives are really taking heat for their involvement in the mostly white tea party movement—and for having the audacity to oppose the policies of the nation’s first black president.

But, there’s no there there. The quotes that follow all sound true but there’s no time, date or location. These supposedly result directly from their involvement with tp-protests or groups.

The article winds itself into a very mediocre piece on. This is an important topic that deserves more than whiny pablum. It feels more like a proxy-defense against charges of tea party bigotry. If there are any specific instances of “hate speech” directed toward black tea partiers, I missed them. Please set me straight.
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Also, Angela McGlowan is not my cup of tea. But it sure would be nice to see her covered as someone other than the black lady at the Tea Party Convention.

Black conservatives catch a double-dose (or more!) of hate from the liberals, e.g. the racist Field Negro AfroSpear/Afrosphere blog (as if this blogger has ever seen a field beside a sport’s field, maybe) has a “House Negro of the Day” award.